The Spanish table grape campaign is ahead of schedule this year. After two weeks of good sales, prices have plummeted in the domestic market, although balance is expected to be restored as exports rise in the coming weeks.
"We have started earlier with the domestic table grape campaign this year, since we have Candy Snaps plantations in Murcia and their harvest has been brought forward by two weeks," said Miriam Cutillas, from the Sales and Marketing department of the Alicante-based company Uvasdoce, which has been renamed UVASDOCE FRESH since AMFRESH recently became the majority shareholder.
"At the moment, we are also working with other varieties that we buy from producers in Murcia, such as the Sugraone and Itum15, and in Seville, such as the Sweet Celebration and Sweet Globe. The ripening is taking place between one week and ten days ahead of schedule due to the rains and heat during the months of fruit growth. It should be noted that, for the time being, mid-season and later varieties are not arriving early," she added.
From week 30, Uvasdoce will start harvesting table grapes in Alicante. "This season, we will include new varieties in our range, such as the Ivory, Krissy and, for the end of the season, the late Autumn King. With these varieties we will be able to extend the season by two weeks, both at the beginning and the end. This is also the first year in which we will no longer have the Crimson variety, due to its irregular production and, therefore, we will only have protected varieties. Among these, we will be testing 6 different varieties from the SNFL program," says Miriam Cutillas.
This year, UVASDOCE FRESH is increasing its production volume by about 1 million kilos, to 5,000 tons. "We expect to continue growing every year until we reach 10 million kilos in the next 4 or 5 years," says the sales manager.
During the first weeks of the season, the company's sales are focused on the domestic market. "For now, sales have been going very well, as the shortage of melons, watermelons and cherries on the shelves and their high prices have led consumers to buy more table grapes. However, although prices started out very good, they have now inexplicably started to fall too quickly in the Spanish market. It is true that volumes are now growing in Murcia, while Egypt still has a strong presence in the United Kingdom, but it is inexplicable that there are already promotions in supermarkets in July."
According to the sales manager, "prices are already close to levels that, if they continue to fall, the profitability will be at risk. While the costs of packaging materials and energy have stabilized, labor costs have risen by another 16% this year due to the increase in the minimum wage. All links in the chain will need to understand each other; otherwise, agriculture will no longer be profitable," she warned.
"It is worth noting that grapes are one of the few products whose consumption was hardly affected by inflation from January to June this year, so is it really necessary to lower prices so much to sell more?" she said.
"From next week, Murcia will start to reach its production potential and exports of Spanish table grapes will start to rise, so we hope that market balance will be restored and prices will stabilize again. We will start exporting in the second week of August. It would be a pity if we were forced to prioritize exports because of the pressure on prices in the domestic market, despite the fact that we have gotten consumption to increase in recent years," says Miriam Cutillas. The company allocates half of its production to the domestic market and the other half to exports.
